Atlantic Provinces

Hello from the Atlantic Provinces.

Nova Scotian Barry Turner attended the Southern Grand at the Silver Dollar in Odessa, FL, in March. Barry reported that the shoot was very well run, equipment operated flawlessly and ammunition was in sufficient supply. The temperatures varied throughout the week, with temperature highs into the 80s to low 50s on the last day of the shoot. Gusty winds held scoring in check all week. Barry shot respectfully with solid handicap scores that earned him a couple of top 10 finishes and a tie for fifth in the championship handicap. Congratulations, Barry, and best of luck at the Great Lakes Grand.

The Silver Dollar is a popular mid-winter destination for many Canadian trapshooters. It’s a great place to shoot, and I would highly recommend the Florida club if you’re considering a winter or March break shoot.

ATA registered shooting in the Atlantic Provinces is picking up after a long winter. The Petitcodiac SC in New Brunswick starts things off with their Spring Trap Opener on May 6, and the St. John’s R&GC in Newfoundland will have their first registered shoot of the season May 28. The complete Atlantic Provinces ATA registered shoot schedule is available on www.shootatlantic.com.

The Brandon GC in Brandon, MB, will be hosting the Canadian Trapshooting Championships June 28-July 2. The shoot opens with a doubles marathon June 28, followed by the regular 1,000-target program shot over four days. Back for another year is the Canada Cap Challenge, which pays out a $4,000 purse to the top provincial five-man team in the preliminary handicap. New for this year is a $500 non-resident purse that pays out the top two non-resident scores in the preliminary handicap. These purses are sponsored by DVine TR, the Canadian Trapshooting Association, Brandon GC and Perazzi Canada. Good luck, everyone! A shoot program with pre-squadding, hotel and complete shoot information is available on www.shootcanada.ca.

For more information on the Atlantic Provinces Trapshooting Association, feel free to contact me at [email protected] or visit shootatlantic.com.

Andrea Bassan

ATA Delegate

Massachusetts

As I put this article together on March 5, we have had two snowstorms this week that totaled 13 inches of snow. Whereas, in February, it felt more like spring with temperatures in the high 50s. But that’s New England!

I would like to remind all members to please have your MATA dues paid for the 2023 target year. Also check your average card, have your singles and doubles up to date, along with your correct yardage. This will help you get through quickly at the classification table.

The target requirements for 2023, in order to make the State Team, will be 2,000 singles, 1,500 handicap and 1,000 doubles targets. You must also shoot all the events of the two championship days (Saturday and Sunday) during the 2023 state shoot.

All of our clubs have their shoot dates set for 2023. Our state shoot was finalized, and the dates will be June 8-11 at Minuteman SC. There will be 1,100 targets available.

Our Labor Day Shoot was also nailed down. The date will be Sept. 3 at the North Leominster R&GC.

All of this information should be available at the MATA website.

I would like to congratulate the following shooters for making the 2023 state team:

Robert Nihtila Jr., .9494; Jacob Pappas, .9226; Roman Barrett, .9114; Paul Donovan, .9067; Michael Lombardy, .9005; Nancy Patterson, .8952; Robert Platt Jr., .8855; Vincent Farrell Jr., .8826; Thomas Monahan, .8786; Walter Bristol Jr., .8776; Bruce Costa, .8754; Christopher Monterotti, .8741; Robert Scott, 8715; Andrew Barrett, .8706; Ed Archambeault, .8562.

Nihtila had the high singles average with .9875, handicap with .9087, doubles with .9520, and all-around with .9494.

I would also like to recognize two shooters who made the 2023 ATA All-American Team, Roman Barrett Jr., junior second team, and one of our shooters who now resides in Florida, Nancy Patterson, Lady II first.

On a sad note, a longtime shooter, Bob Hawkes, passed away Nov. 23, 2022 at the age of 84. Those of you who have been around the game for awhile will recognize the name.

Bob was the successful owner and president of Redmond Concrete Construction Co. of Rowley for 51 years. He was an accomplished golfer. However, his true passion was the shooting sports and the outdoors. He served in many capacities, including club president, over the years at the Danvers F&GC and Minuteman SC, where he was honored with not one, but two lifetime membership awards for his contributions. He was the Massachusetts State Shoot honoree in 2015. Our sincere condolences go out to his wife Sandra, family and friends.

Another shooter and a true gentleman who we have lost is Kenneth F. DiRaffael of St. Augustine, FL, formerly of Andover, MA. Ken passed away Feb. 15, 2021, at the age of 80. After many years in the corporate world, he decided to follow his passion and started his own business. Ken became a land developer and also designed and built spec homes throughout northeastern Massachusetts. In his free time, he enjoyed cycling, golfing and trapshooting. He was an active member of the MATA and served on the board in 2002. The same year, he earned the all-around trophy at the Massachusetts State Shoot. Ken started shooting registered targets in 1996 and shot until 2011. Our thoughts and prayers to his wife Karen, family and friends.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns that I can help with, I can be reached at 413-586-0428 or (cell) 413-687-7703 or [email protected].

Remember to have fun!

Dave Russell

ATA Delegate

New Jersey

As I sit here writing the May contribution to Trap & Field, it’s March 20, the first day of spring. Hopefully, as you’re sitting down reading this in May, the previous two months have been a warming-up period in your area of the country, and you were able to say goodbye to winter!

Last month I failed to include Rich Pappas on the 2022 veteran team in my column and in the 2023 program. Rich, I apologize for the error.

The Southern Grand just finished up March 19 at the Silver Dollar in Odessa, FL. Nine New Jersey shooters were in attendance, with Bob Jarvis winning four trophies and Joe Sissano winning one. The weather in Florida was quite mild for most of the shoot; as usual, the weather people completely missed their forecast of rain and thunderstorms throughout the day on Saturday, which never happened, causing people to not shoot and depart for home earlier than they had planned. Mother Nature took care of Sunday’s attendance with cool temperatures and high winds from the north, which kept attendance down as well as the scores.

Ground Swipers in Forked River held their annual Shamrock Shoot March 18-19. In Event 1, 100 singles, Charles Lehmann Jr., returning to trapshooting after 30 years, when he was in the junior category, was high with 96. Caitlyn Barton took ladies’, Rick Batesko won A, Ernie Onesti won B, Patrick Shulack Jr. took C, and James Good landed D. In Event 2, 50 pair of doubles, Batesko won A, Shulack Jr. B, Rangel Queiroz C, and Patrick Shulack Sr. took D. On Sunday in Event 3, 100 singles, Tony Pietrofitta was winner, Shulack Jr. earned A, Keith Barton took B, Jayden Lovenguth claimed C, and Justin Freed won D. In Event 4, 100 handicap, Caitlyn Barton captured ladies’, short-yardage was won by Mike Chiarella, 22-24 was won by Shulack Jr., and 25-27 yardage was claimed by Lehmann Jr.

The second 2023 New Jersey Trapshooting Hall of Fame inductee is Thomas Green Sr. The following write-up was done with the help of Steve Burick and Tom, and I thank them for it.

Thomas Green Sr. was born in Vineland, NJ, Aug. 8, 1960, and has lived in South Jersey his entire life. He has fond memories of hunting in and around the area as a young man with family and friends for small game and deer. His adventures took him deer hunting as far north as the woods of Maine.

Tom graduated from Buena High School in 1978. It was during high school that he started working for Jim and Bob Pagliughi at their gun shop in Vineland. Weekend duties included traveling to the various ATA clubs of New Jersey in the store truck with Jimmy Pagliughi and Roger Linton, selling ammunition and reloading components to the shooters. In those days we never had to worry about supply shortages and high prices!

It was the year 1975, during one of Tom’s Friday night visits to Seabrook GC, which had two trapfields and a skeet field, that he caught the trapshooting bug! He continued shooting trap at that club, and in 1976, the very next year, he joined the ATA and began registering targets. He concluded his first year with an 80 average on 1,300 singles targets and a 76 on 600 handicap.

In the spring of 1978, as a 17-year-old senior in high school, he won the New Jersey state Handicap Championship.

After shooting trap for four years, Tom had upped his singles average to .9125 and handicap to .8517. During the 1981 season, he decided to add doubles to his resume and ended the year shooting .6920 on 250 doubles targets—we all have to start somewhere!

His practice and dedication to the sport showed, and by 1989, his average card read as follows: singles, .9723; handicap, .8930; and doubles, .8980. This performance landed him on the State Team, an accomplishment he held until 1994, when work and family took precedence. Although he continued shooting, he did not accrue enough targets to qualify him for the team.

He has visited and shot at many clubs that are but memories to Tom and the shooters of New Jersey. He attended the last Jersey Cricket at the Atlantic City GC before it closed. He was fortunate enough to shoot over the water at the Old Mill T&SC. He shot with Harry Miller at Thunder Mountain in New Jersey, shot targets at the Quaker City GC. And I would be remiss if George and Nyda Wright at the Salem Co. SC were not included in the above list.

Tom has pursued the sport of trapshooting in many states besides New Jersey. His travels, many of those years in a 1984 Buick, have taken him to New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio and Florida. It was in Florida that he and wife Connie enjoyed the winter weather and friendly people, leading them to purchase property there. He spends most of the Pennsylvania shoot season up at Elysburg with Connie and his son Tom Jr. and friends.

His list of accomplishments include:

Shooting the same Perazzi trapgun for 35 years!

Shooting the Jersey Cricket many times during the 1990s.

Reaching the 27-yard line in 1991.

In 1993 he posted a .9813 average on 3,100 singles targets.

During the 1993 target year, Tom kept his AA classification on 3,100 singles, 1,600 doubles and shot from the back fence for handicap.

In 1994 his doubles were .9375 on 1,600 targets.

Tomas Green Sr. has been a 13-year member of the New Jersey State Team, notched three 200 straights, many 100s, a 99 in both handicap and doubles.

His longest shootoff was 200 targets (175 straight) with Phil Barber and Steve Huber.

In 2005 his average was: singles, .9843; handicap, .9200; and doubles, .9200.

To date, he has shot 114,200 singles, 69,600 handicap and 54,900 doubles, and he continues adding to his totals. While attending shoots in any state, you can be sure to see Thomas Green Sr.’s name somewhere on the leaderboard.

With a career like this, the shooters of New Jersey wholeheartedly welcome Tom into the NJ Trapshooting Hall of Fame.

The 2023 New Jersey southern zone is being held at three clubs this year, and the satellite location in Fairfield is shooting on Friday this year too. The shoot is May 5-7 at Pine Valley and Ground Swipers, South Jersey residents may shoot at either location, for resident awards; out-of-zone shooters also may shoot at the two South Jersey locations or the satellite shoot location in Fairfield for open awards all three days.

Pine Belt is having their State Shoot Warm-up Shoot May 21. They’re also holding the Delaware State Shoot May 26-29, followed by the New Jersey State Shoot June 1-4.

If you have an idea for an article or just a question, I may be reached at 732-546-7910 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Joe Sissano

ATA Delegate

New York

Hello from the New York State. I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe and healthy. If you are traveling home from out west or the south, please proceed safely. I hope everyone had an enjoyable Easter holiday.

I am sorry to say that New York has lost two more shooters. Deborah Vendel and Barbara Rosowski have both passed away.

Deborah Vendel passed away March 9, at the age of 84. Deborah was the mother of ATA All-American Chris Vendel and the grandmother of the late junior gold All-American Christopher Vendel. Deb started registering targets in 1976. During her career, Deb registered 62,755 singles, 26,850 handicap and 5,550 doubles targets. She was standing on the 19-yard line when she stopped registering targets. In 1978 Deb won the Handicap Championship during the New York State Shoot with 96. Deborah was a wonderful lady who always donated shotgun shells as a prize for sub-junior and junior shooters during the New York State Shoot. Our deepest sympathies to her sons Chris and Jonathan and all in her family on her passing. Deb will be missed.

Barbara Rosowski passed away March 12 at the age of 79. Barb was the widow of trapshooter Jim Rosowski, who passed away in 2020. They were married for 51 years. During her career, Barbara registered 56,925 singles, 34,175 handicap and 11,200 doubles targets. Barbara was standing on the 23-yard line and started registering targets in 1975. Barbara and Jim attended many shoots in New York, including the homegrounds in Cicero, plus Pennsylvania, Ohio and winters in Florida. Our deepest sympathies to Barb’s family on her passing.

The 2023 Southern Grand American was held at the Silver Dollar SC March 12-19. A total of 49 New Yorkers made the trip to Florida to attend the tournament. During Sunday’s Preliminary Singles, Daniel Boisclair was C runnerup. In Monday’s Preliminary Doubles, Joshua Buchiere was AA winner. In Tuesday’s Preliminary Doubles, Heidi Womer was the Lady I victor, and Urban Womer was veteran runnerup. In Tuesday’s Ricky Marshall Jr. Singles, Lady I winner was Heidi Womer, and Urban Womer was veteran runnerup. During the B. Schumpert Handicap, Lady II runnerup was Susan Gullotta, and William Wallis topped senior veteran. In the Doubles Championship, David McMasters was A runnerup, and Urban Womer was veteran second. In the Handicap Championship, James Flint took ninth place, and Martin Gawron won sub-veteran. Finally, in the all-around, Gawron won Class A. All trophy winners can be viewed on ShootScoreBoard.com and in this issue. This was great shooting by all.

Please remember that the first shoot at the homegrounds in Cicero will be the Empire Grand American May 10-14. We hope you all plan to attend.

If anyone would like to have something written in one of these articles, please contact me at [email protected] or phone me at 585-519-9543. Please stay healthy, safe and in good spirits. May God bless you all.

Dave Cichelli

ATA Delegate

Pennsylvania

The Keystone Open is on our doorstep signaling the beginning of the shooting season at the PSSA. Over the course of the winter months and up until the Keystone Open, many projects have and are taking place for the 2023 season. Some of the physical changes will be noticed immediately, such as the bathhouse being refurbished inside and (with a little help from the weather) the traphouses will be repainted. Trapfields will be going through the surveying process to ensure target consistency from trap to trap as well as target heights. Through the course of the year, many smaller items will be completed.

As with most every year recently, challenges still loom. Two of the most challenging are inflation and line personnel. Some relief with ammunition prices would help, but the issue is not limited to ammunition only; it has an effect on everything. Staffing is yet to be known; however, the outreach to more local school districts and organizations has been increased, and hopefully we’ll be able to run at full speed this year.

Over the past month, we had 57 shooters attend the Southern Grand in Florida, with 17 of them bringing home 43 awards. The young guns showed up in force, with Wyatt Readler (eight) winning the HAA for the shoot and Joesph Breck IV (four) capturing the Doubles Championship. Deborah Ohye-Neilson (13) earned the most hardware for Pennsylvania shooters, while securing the category HAA and HOA titles. Richard Long (two), Terry Lash, Richard Wilson, Kevin Dallmus, Ken Darroch, Don Neilson (two), Mary Schaffer, Clare Schaffer, Brian James (two), Randy Parson, Jim Lechleitner, Nicholas Wertz (two), Sheldon Hostetter and James Kester rounded out the list of Keystone winners. Congratulations to the start of the season.

The following week had 37 Pennsylvania shooters attending the Florida State Shoot, with nine of them winning 26 awards. Deborah Ohye-Neilson (nine) captured the category HAA and HOA trophies, while Jacob Bonser (three) and Brandon Stahl earned category and class HAA titles, respectively. Our other winners were Brian James (four), John Soloe, Richard Milbert (three), Brandon Hood (three), Roger Shallenberger and William Burleson. Back by popular demand at this year’s events are the options to win an E-Z-GO SX4 golf car at the state shoot, a Browning CXT with Negrini hard case at the ATA Eastern Zone, multiple flats of shells at the Pennsylvania Grand, as well as the immensely popular Krieghoff Challenge on Krieghoff Friday of the state shoot. Good luck, shooters, and I hope you enjoy the 2023 PSSA shooting season.

Steve Ross

ATA Alternate Delegate

Alabama

The Alabama State Trapshooting Championship Shoot will be held June 1-4 at the Dixie TC in Mathews. If you have any questions about camping or reservations, contact Bill Parson at 334-399-7996 or e-mail him at www.dixietrap.com. I really want to thank Bill Wilbourne for all of his hard work to get a QR code completed with this year’s shoot program. I have included it in this article.

Joke of the month: An elderly man rear-ends a guy driving an expensive sports car. Enraged, the guy hops out of his car and confronts the old man. “Look what you did to my car,” he yells. “You’re gonna give me $10,000 right now, or I’m gonna beat you to a bloody pulp!” “Oh my,” says the old man. “I don’t have that kind of money. Let me call my son. He trains dolphins, and he’ll know what to do. “Dolphins,” the other driver huffs, while rolling his eyes. The old man pulls out his phone, dials his son, and just as the son answers, the irate man snatches the phone away from the old man. “So, you’re a dolphin trainer, huh? Well, your old man here just rear-ended my car, and I need 10 grand right now, or I’m gonna beat you AND your old man to a bloody pulp.” “I’ll be there in 10 minutes,” says the voice calmly on the other end. Exactly 10 minutes later a Jeep pulls up, and a guy hops out and proceeds to pulverize the bully, leaving him in a bloody heap on the side of the road. When he’s finished, he walks over to his father and says, “For the last time, Dad . . . I train Seals . . . Navy Seals . . . not dolphins.”

Thanks to Feldon Battle, my Navy veteran buddy, for this one!

Word of the month: Muchablige: Thank you. “Muchablige for the lift, mister.”

Please keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers. Without the men and women of our armed forces protecting this country, we would not be able to enjoy this great sport. When you see a soldier, thank him or her for their service.

If you need my help or have any news to report, contact me at [email protected].

Wayne Sartwell

ATA Delegate

Florida

Hello all from the most Southern, Northern State!

Florida trapshooting is in full swing, and there are just too many shoots for me to post who did what. Please refer to the Gun Club Scores in this issue or ShootScoreBoard.com.

Recently I have been asked, “How can I make it into the Trap & Field Magazine?” Good question. A few ways come to mind, with the first being you or your gun club representative contact me about your outstanding achievement. Another is by ATA recognition. For example, shooting your first straight or making AA or AAA and 27-yard line status.

Shout-outs and congratulations

Congratulations to Cody Meredith “again” for receiving his 100 straight patch. Awesome job! Also to Lewis LaRoche Sr. for his 100,000 singles.

Congratulations to the following Florida shooters for their outstanding performance at the Southern Grand this year: HAA: sub-junior runnerup, Cody Meredith; Lady II, Nancy Patterson; senior vet, Kay Ohye; chairshooter, Dale Rasmussen; and Class C, Thomas Harrington. HOA: sub-junior, Meredith; senior vet, Ohye. Great job representing Florida! (side note: Nancy, I’m not sure what you look like, so please introduce yourself.)

ATA news

Kolar Raffle tickets: Please see me or your gun club representative to purchase your Kolar Raffle tickets. Each ticket is $20. Someone is going to win, and it might as well be you (or me). I have sold out of Kolar tickets, but I have borrowed some if you want them. Trapshooting Hall of Fame Krieghoff tickets are also available.

Shoot Station App: If you are not using this app yet, you might want to start. It is the Official Mobile Application for the ATA. It has the ability to enter current scores now, so you are always up to date. This app is really handy for when you are trying to determine your last 1,000-target average for classifying. It has the ability to tell you your current average for each discipline, your last 1,000 targets, your last 500 and 400 targets. Makes it easy. Thank you to all of the folks who had the app at classification for the Florida State Shoot.

For shooters who constantly decline handicap reductions, did you know you can ask your Delegate to have a Code D added to your file, which freezes reductions for a year?

ATA rule for the month

SECTION VII OFFICIAL SCORING (The dang, I shot out of turn rule, see #4)

1. NO TARGET The referee/scorer shall rule “NO TARGET” and allow another target(s) in the following instances: 1. When an allowable “Failure to Fire” as described above occurs. 2. In single target events when the target is thrown broken, regardless of the result of any shot fired. 3. When a whole target appears on the call of the shooter along with target debris. 4. When a contestant shoots out of turn. All contestants must shoot in regular order or sequence according to his or her position in the squad. A contestant who does not shoot in regular order is “out of turn” and the results are not scored. 5. When two (2) contestants fire at the same target. 6. When the trap is sprung without any call of pull, or when it is sprung at any material interval of time before or after the call of the contestant, provided the contestant does not fire. If the contestant fires, the result must be scored. 7. When two (2) targets are thrown at the same time in single target events regardless of whether the contestant fires. 8. When an “illegal” target is thrown, which is a target that is not within the prescribed angle or height limits for single target shooting, or what is known as a “flipper” or “freak” target is thrown, which is a target that may have slipped out of the carrier of the trap or one not properly placed on the trap, provided the contestant does not fire at it. If the contestant fires, the result must be scored. 9. When a target whose color is markedly different from that of the others is thrown, and the contestant does not fire. If the contestant fires, the result must be scored. 10. When firing, the contestant’s feet must be behind the firing mark at 16 yards, or behind the mark for the handicap yardage assigned to him/her, depending upon the event being participated in. The contestant must stand with at least one foot on an imaginary line drawn through the center of the trap and continuing through the center of the post, or have one foot on each side of the line. Exceptions to the rule contained in the second sentence of this paragraph may be granted by the referee/scorer due to inequalities in the shooting platform, and shall be granted for wheelchair contestants. Wheelchair contestants shall position their chair so that the center of mass of their body is over the place where they would stand as required by this rule if no chair were used. If a contestant fails to follow this rule in its entirety, the referee/scorer shall rule any target fired at and broken a “NO TARGET,” but if fired at and missed, the referee/scorer shall rule the target “LOST.” 11. In addition, in DOUBLES EVENTS, the referee/scorer shall rule “NO TARGET” and allow another pair of targets in the following instances ONLY: a. When only one target is thrown. b. When more than two targets are thrown. c. When both targets are broken by one shot. d. When one or both targets are thrown broken even though the contestant fires at one or both targets. e. When one or both targets are not within the prescribed angle or height limits and the contestant does not fire at either target. f. If the contestant fires at an illegal first target and the second target is legal, he/she must also fire at the second target, and if he/she fails to do so, the legal second target shall be ruled, “LOST.” After a contestant has fired at either a legal or illegal first target, he/she is not required to fire at an illegal second target, but if he/she does fire, the result must be scored.

I will try to keep all of you informed and entertained with what’s going on in Florida. I want to especially recognize shooters and clubs.

My e-mail is [email protected].

Mike Reynolds

ATA Delegate

Mississippi

The time is now for our Mississippi trapshooters to stand up and be counted. The Mississippi State Trapshoot is ready to go, and we’re looking forward to a stellar trapshooting event. The dates are May 25-28 and pre-squad is open until 6 p.m. May 20. For those of you coming to the club from U.S. Highway 49 via Cynthia and Billy Bell Roads, good news. The road has been repaved and is in good shape for cars, trucks and RVs. Can you believe it? Wow! For our non-resident shooters looking for a good state shoot to attend, come on down. We love to have you and all our trapshooting friends. It is our pleasure to show off some Mississippi hospitality.

Okay, so it is hot and getting hotter here in the sunny South. Heat is no stranger here, so some words of wisdom on shooting in brutal heat are in order. One trick I just learned not too long ago is to front load your water intake. If you know you are going to shoot in the heat, start tanking up on water the day before. Do not wait until the day of shooting and think you can drink enough water during the day—nay, nay. Give the body a good chance to keep up with water loss by starting early the day before. I, like many of you, have seen too many of our comrades hauled off to the hospital with heat dehydration. Do not let it happen to you!

There is more good trapshooting on the slate here in Mississippi. We have the Rebel Trapshoot in July. July 8-9 are the dates, and the program is 600 targets. It is a terrific opportunity to warm up, get some targets on your record, and get ready for the Southern Zone and the Grand American shoots to come.

As for the Southern Zone Shoot, we are indeed fortunate to have Coast R&PC hosting a site this year. July 21-23 are the dates. I just cannot say enough about our trapper buddies down in Biloxi. They know how to put on a great shoot. Not only that, but the Biloxi area offers accommodations, seafood cuisine, and entertainment that are second to none. If you do not have this one on your calendar, you better get with the program and put it there. You will not regret it.

All right, we are in the thick of it now. Bring it on! I hope you are as excited as I am. To paraphrase the words of the famous Will Rogers, “I have joked about a lot of prominent trap targets of my time, but I really never met a trap target I didn’t like.” There, enough said. Happy trappin’!

Jerry Tharp

ATA Delegate

North Carolina

Happily, I’m writing this article from sunny Florida. The Southern Grand American was a complete success, and we had a reasonably good representation from North Carolina here. Silver Dollar SC did a great job hosting the shoot (except they had a tough time controlling the wind). The scores were a little lower than normal; however, there were some great scores, considering the conditions. Hunter Galloway, the ATA secretary and North Carolina resident, shot at and broke his 100,000th singles target and is to be congratulated on that milestone. Our Hall of Fame Shoot at the end of April is the unofficial beginning of the shooting season for us here in the Carolinas. I’d like to cordially invite all shooters to come and join us at our state shoot in the beginning of June and the Dixie Grand American at the end of September. If any of you have questions about North Carolina shooting, please feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].

Bob Schultz

ATA Delegate

South Carolina

We’ll start with a bit of good news because the rest of this column is bad news.

Frank Ketron achieved the 75,000 doubles level, and he broke 98 in a doubles event at the Southern Grand.

Now the bad news.

An old friend, who only us old-timers remember, Richard (Dick) Shumate passed away from a massive stroke. Dick bought a new gun at the Grand in Vandalia, shot it in the Grand American Handicap and won runnerup. Dick couldn’t shoot that gun worth a darn after that and traded it off. Dick, Bob Burkett and I used to work gun shows together and had a great time. Dick stayed with it and opened Trader’s Gun Shop in Greenville. He was quite successful, keeping the store open many years until he sold it and retired. I will miss Dick; we had some great times. We were at the Southern Grand when he passed, so my wife attended his services.

It was a bad week. On Tuesday morning Doug received a text from Dave Reynolds’ wife stating that Dave had passed away the previous night. Dave had been fighting cancer.

His oncologist gave him a year with no treatment. Dave took every treatment and held on with optimism. He passed in seven months. Dave made the State Team one year and was a great squad member wherever we went. He made the best vodka or gin and tonics under the tent at Bostic, NC, after shooting was over. Dave was vice president of Greenville GC. His real passion was fishing. He was the last remaining member of a three-man fishing group. May y’all catch a five-pounder on every cast. Dave was one of the good ones. He will be missed.

Please keep Jerry Tuten and Gary Campbell in your prayers.

Please take care of yourselves. I don’t ever want to have to write a column like this again.

Jim Faber

ATA Delegate

Tennessee

The Southern Zone has two state shoots in May: South Carolina is May 17-21 at Spartanburg GC, Spartanburg, and Mississippi is May 25-28 at Capitol GC, Jackson.

May 20-21 Nashville GC will host the Music City shoot. On Saturday they will shoot 200 singles and 100 handicap targets. Sunday will be 100 singles, 100 handicap and 100 doubles.

Memphis GC will host the MidSouth Open the same weekend. They will shoot 200 singles on Saturday. Sunday will be 200 handicap and 100 doubles.

Nineteen Tennesseans went to the Southern Grand, with seven of them bringing trophies home. Winners were Seth Cooper, Drew Hoekstra, Tyler Honnold, Jacob Duren, Brady Duren, Mitchel Loveless and Dick Mavis. There was 415 entries for the championship singles; only three 200 straights were entered, and all three were from Tennessee. After the shootoff Brady Duren was the champ, with Tyler Honnold the junior winner, and Dick Mavis sub-vet champ.

On a sad note, John Eddie Cain of Nashville passed away March 17. The 2007 TSTA Hall of Fame inductee was 92. He is survived by two daughters and six grandchildren.

Mr Cain attended his first Grand American as a 17-year-old in 1947. At his third Grand in 1964, he broke 200 straight in the Clay Target Championship, finishing third in the shootoff.

He won the Tennessee Handicap Championship in 1955 and 1962. In 1963 he won the Tennessee Singles Championship and was elected president of the TSTA. The same year he won the Southern Zone HAA and HOA. He followed that with state doubles championships in 1967 and 1968. In all these wins, including the doubles, he shot a Winchester Model 12. At one time he was Tennessee 12-gauge skeet champion as well as state champion of live birds. Mr. Cain retired from competitive shooting in 1970.

Read the rulebook, please.

For more info, visit our website at shootatatn.com. You can reach me at [email protected].

Billy Cook

ATA Southern Zone Vice President

Colorado

Attention, in-state and out-of-state ATA shooters, here is a short note from CSTA President Mike Wasserburger about Colorado’s newly improved in-state and out-of-state trophy list.

“We have made significant changes this year to our state shoot trophy budget, and we hope you’ll notice the improvement in both the quality of our trophies and the improvement in the out-of-state trophy package (quality and quantity). We heard some feedback from our shooters last year and worked hard to improve this year. We will have separate and equal trophy packages for both in-state and out-of-state shooters. All categories and classes/yardage groups are covered. There is only one event in the Thursday-through-Saturday CSTA competition that is open; the remaining six events have separate and equal in-state and out-of-state trophies. Even the HOA and HAA trophies are fully replicated for both in-state and out-of-state shooters.

“We have a dedicated trophy selection team working hard to bring some very unique trophies, representing local artists and some Southwest flair, along with very usable and practical items as well. You will not be disappointed!

“Please consider adding Colorado to the list of state shoots you attend this year. We extend a very warm welcome to all ATA shooters to come join us for a great time in Colorado this June.

Mike Wasserburger

CSTA President”

As you can see, Mike, along with Nikki Herman and Glenn Zimmerman, are determined to leave no stone unturned in their attempt to sway you, the traveling ATA shooter, into coming to the 2023 Colorado State Shoot. It is also meant to help convince you, the in-state shooter, to attend the state shoot as well as other ATA registered shoots in Colorado. Wasserburger, along with Past President Jeff West, Scott McIntire and Charles Costello, are working hard making sure the new trophy list doesn’t impact your shooting budget any more than is necessary.

While I know there will be some cost, I’m convinced this is a huge step in the right direction, but if I know anything about this group of shooters, this is only a first step in bringing Colorado in line with the rest of the country.

I can only say I’m looking forward to helping Mike and the CSTA Executive Committee as they move forward to confront the many changes and challenges that are surely coming their way. One of the biggest challenges the shooters of Colorado, as well as the rest of country, will face this year is how to manage a shrinking shoot budget in an inflation hungry world.

This new trophy package should help all the clubs that now host the Colorado State Shoot, as well as those that plan to host it in the future. In closing, I would only say, come to the 2023 Colorado State Shoot and see for yourself. I, along with Mike, Jeremiah Stains and the folks at the Pikes Peak GC, cordially welcome all in-state and out-of-state shooters to the 2023 Colrado. State Shoot at Pikes Peak, Colorado Springs, June 14-18.

P.S. Why do we want trophies? Why are trophies even necessary?

I’m sure every one of us will have a different answer to these two questions. I don’t know if any of you remember, but I wrote about trophies a few years back in one of my newsletters. I’m going to rehash that letter just a little because what I wrote then is still true today. I can’t remember the exact words I used then, but it went something like this.

You have heard the expression, a picture is a snapshot in time. This is because pictures take you back to an exact time and place in your past. Trophies do the exact same thing. Trophies do have one advantage over pictures; pictures can represent unpleasant as well as pleasant times, trophies only represent the times you won, so can only represent good times. I find the better the trophy, the more I’m apt to keep it, the longer I keep it, the more times it can take me back to the happy time and place where I won it. The more I return in my mind, the more I’m apt to return to one of their shoots.

Irv Effinger

ATA Delegate

Missouri

Well, it’s that time of the year that we have been hoping for all winter long, when the weather is more conducive to trapshooting. The official kickoff of the shooting season began at MTA March 18 with the annual Team Shoot followed by the first registered shoot of the year March 19. On Saturday, 16 teams endured the cold windy conditions and took the line to determine the winners. Division I winning team was Pound Town (Butch Prussman, Rich Leiss, Habe Darr, Shane Taylor and Brad Gray) with a 14-target advantage over the second-place team. The Division II winners were Alferman USA (Larry Alferman, Raymond Buhr, Gary Young, Gary Alferman and Randy Buhr). They took the prize with a four-target advantage over the second-place team. Two teams tied for the Division III title with Logans Team (Don McPherson, Bert McGuire, Dan Alspach, Logan Rasko and William Schmidt) declared the winners. In the Division IV race, the Lucky Charms (Tom Reichert, Jeremy Bock, Gary Kimbel, Jed Lamping and Nick Belker) got the title with a three-target lead over the runnerup team. Sunday, March 19 brought a little warmer weather with less wind and more sunshine for the first registered shoot of the year. There were 48 brave souls who shot the singles, 25 in the handicap and 19 in the doubles. Thanks to everyone who braved the cold and wind to satisfy their desires to smash some clay targets.

The MTA board has been working diligently putting everything together for the upcoming state shoot. Please see the program, as some substantial changes have been made. The class singles, formerly on Thursday, has been moved to Friday and reduced to a 100-target event, along with the Preliminary Handicap and the class doubles. The 200-target event on Thursday has been reduced to 100 singles with 100 handicap and 50 pair of doubles. The amount of targets will be the same as in the past with one more event and another chance for shooters to collect a trophy. If you haven’t received a program in the mail, it can be viewed online at motraps.com. The MTA board and staff sincerely hope you will come shoot with us. If anyone would like to earn a little extra income during the state shoot or any other shoots at MTA this year, please give us a call!

If anyone has anything they would like to have reported or has any concerns, please contact me at [email protected] or 816-863-9003.

Shoot often, shoot well and be safe!

Stephen Ricketts

ATA Delegate

Oklahoma

As this issue is delivered, I’m sure we are all enjoying warm spring weather in Oklahoma. However, currently we are pushing through the tail end of winter. Despite the cold temperatures, there has been plenty of shooting around Oklahoma as well as Oklahomans shooting in warmer states.

Shawnee held a Big 50 in early March, where Johnny Wilson was singles and handicap winner; Shelton Shively won the doubles. On March 1 Bartlesville had their last Big 50 for this winter. Winners were Pete Wedelin, singles; Ben Conley, handicap; and David Breadlove, doubles.

Twenty shooters showed up for the March Madness shoot at the OTSA homegrounds March 11-12. On Saturday, winners were Nathan Lemke, singles; Randy Hill, handicap; and Johnny Wilson, doubles. Sunday winners were Gus Bradshaw, singles; Randy Hill, handicap; and Charles LeadingFox, doubles.

Oil Capital had their first Spring Big 50 March 16. Winners were Rob Martin, singles; Sammy Naugles, handicap; and Billy Pierce, doubles. All results of these shoots can be viewed on the OTSA website.

In Las Vegas recently, the NCSSA (National Collegiate Shooting Sports Athletic Association) held the National Collegiate Championship at the Clark Co. SC. Congratulations to Jacob Diller and Klayton McGee for their shooting excellence. They brought home several trophies and titles. You can read more about their wins on our website otatrapandskeet.org. We’re proud of these young men, and I’m sure Lindenwood University is as well!

Casa Grande T&S in Arizona held their annual Breast Cancer Awareness Shoot the first week of March. We attended and again enjoyed the people and the shooting. Saturday night they had a nice dinner followed by a benefit auction that was a lot of fun and successful! Again, as expected, the shoot was managed well and ran smoothly. Paula Trayer was Lady II winner in Saturday’s singles. Ronald Penner was mid-yardage victor on the same day, breaking 94.

Oklahoma was well represented at the Arizona State Shoot this year at the Tucson club. Tad Nicholson had a good week, bringing home many trophies, including A class HOA and HAA. Tad also broke his first 100 straight in the Saguaro Singles event. Later the same day he was yardage group winner and received a punch for his 96. Ron Bliss won vet, posting a perfect score in Event 8 singles and again the same day with his 96 in the handicap. Former Oklahoman Mike Shaw shot well all week and was runnerup in Sunday’s handicap.

Congratulations to Jack Murphy on attaining 25,000 singles targets and to Clay Laughlin on attaining 25,000 doubles.

Preparations are in full swing for the Oklahoma State Shoot. Many improvements are in the works. We have new trees, lovely flowers and shootoff lighting on the way! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone there and hope for record attendance.

Jeff Trayer

ATA Delegate

Texas

Hopefully when you read this, shooting will be in full swing across Texas. I know some of you in south Texas can shoot most of the year, but the shooting starts later in the Panhandle and South Plains.

I do have a little bit of news to report, thanks to Steve Bradbury. Ft. Worth T&SC has a new manager. His name is Seth Cooper, and he is also a new Texas resident. Steve tells me that Seth has been on many All-American Teams. Seth also has one of those near famous “fatman attaboys” coming. He shot at and broke his 25,000th doubles target. Congratulations and welcome to Texas.

As I mentioned last month, we need your help in spreading the word about the 2023 Texas State Shoot to be held at Amarillo Gun Club. In-state and out-of-state trophies will be awarded in Events 2-11 plus 13 and 14. There will also be All-American points awarded on these same events. Event 12 will be the Wolf Chase, benefitting the Texas Trapshooters Scholarship Fund. I urge you to enter the Wolf Chase fun event and help us provide scholarships to our young Texas shooters. If this event is not your thing, please play the Scholarship Lewis purses and help us provide scholarships to our young shooters.

All you Texas Trapshooters Association past presidents, past secretaries, and past treasurers, please read this. If you wish to continue to serve the TTA as a director, you must, I repeat, you must communicate that in writing to the current TTA secretary, Randy Boeding. Please remember, no paper and no vote. To help make it easier for you, a form will be posted on the TTA website, shoottta.org.

Please support your local clubs. They are the backbone of the ATA. I know the cost of targets and shells has decreased the number of practice rounds that are being shot. But you can help in other ways. Try volunteering to help your local club cut their expenses. Most small clubs always have a need for volunteers. Be that person; who knows, you may enjoy it.

I’m going to give you some shoot dates, so mark your calendars. The TTA Zone I shoot is June 16-18 at the Amarillo GC. The Texas State Shoot will be held July 4-9, also at Amarillo GC. The Southwestern Zone shoot is July 14-16. This shoot will be held at two sites in Texas this year, Ft. Worth T&SC and Amarillo GC.

Read the rulebook, have an up-to-date average card, notify ATA if you are refusing a reduction, release pre-squad positions you aren’t going to use, be polite to the trap help, and volunteer to help.

If you have news, please let Princess or me know about it, so I can include it in these ramblings. You can call me at 806-679-6889 or e-mail me at [email protected].

Till next time, y’all shoot well, y’all shoot often, and y’all have a great time.

Jerry O’Connor

ATA Delegate

Arizona

Greetings from Arizona! First off, after eight-plus years as the ATA Delegate representing Arizona, John Bergman has decided to step down from the position. We, the members of the Arizona State Trapshooting Association, would like to thank both him and Tiger Volz for their service in supporting our sport and representing our state!

With that said, I would like to introduce myself. I am Don Williamson and will be representing the state of Arizona as Delegate, with Chris Cusumano as the elected Alternate Delegate. I’m looking forward to representing the Grand Canyon State shooters.

Now on to more important things. The Arizona State Shoot has just concluded, and even with some weather challenges (wind and rain), some shooters put up some excellent scores. The resident singles championship was won in a shootoff by David Landwerlen over Mark Matthews. Both shooters posted 200s in order to get there. Congratulations Dave!

The non-resident singles champion was won in a shootoff by Wyatt DeBrie (NE) over Jason Dobrinski (NM). Both shooters posted 200s as well.

Sunday morning brought on wind, so what better time to shoot doubles? Resident doubles champion was Sophie Nostrom with 96, and Kyle Dennis took runnerup with 93 and shootoff. Non-resident doubles winner was Luke Bower (NM) with 98, and runnerup was Robert Hight (UT) with 95.

Handicap resident champion was Alexis Fernan with an impressive 98, and Michael Jarvis took runnerup honors with 96. Top non-resident was Johnny Allen (CA) with 98, and runnerup was won by Michael Shaw (SD) with 95.

HOA resident winner was Tim Robb with 960×1,000. Non-resident HOA was Bruce Davis (KS) with 963. HAA champion was Kyle Dennis with 383×400, and non-resident was DeBrie with 392.

Total number of shooters for the HAA events was 344 for singles, 253 for doubles and 298 for handicap.

We appreciate all the attendees and hope to see you again next year.

           Don Williamson

           ATA Delegate

California

Hello, California shooters. It’s been a little bit since I have updated you on what’s going on in California. The winter months here are pretty slow for registered trapshoots. There is some shooting taking place during the winter months, but most of this is in the form of meat shoots and duck hunting. However, during the months of November through March, Tucson, AZ, throws some great targets. Quite a few California shooters like to travel to Arizona to attend the Autumn and the Spring Grand. Several shooters can post some pretty great scores in the process.

Autumn Grand: The second highest in attendance for a state is California with 63 shooters. In Event 13, Ferdi Abraham, Steve Smith and Chad Wiebe posted high scores with 99s. Event 14 was won by Chad Wiebe with 99. In Event 15 there were 22 100 straights, and one was by our very own Keith Baker. In Event 16 Ray Thomas and Wiebe tied with two other 97s and were bested by two 98s. Event 18 saw Ray Thomas and David Womack tying six others with 96s. In Event 19 there were 22 100 straights, with David Womack, Logan Engleman and Jason Varozza getting theirs. In Event 21 Logan Engleman broke 98. In the Event 23 Singles Championship, three California shooters shot 200, Jules Azzi, Cory Walker and Womack, with David taking the championship.

Spring Grand: The preliminary events had some California winners, including Bill Sandborg, Mark Evans, Leila Morales, Mackenzie Ludlow, Doug Gustafson, Ethan Prescott and Lori Clodt. Event 15 veteran winner Warren Morimoto shot a 100 straight. Sub-junior winner Mackenzie Ludlow won with 97. Event 16 Lady II winner was Clodt with 90. Event 17 saw Gustafson win Class A with 98. In Event 18 Isle Scheidel won 19-21 with 91. Event 19 Class D winner A. J. Marcelli broke 97. Event 20 Class A winner was Prescott with 97. Class C winner was Wiebe with 94. In Event 21 Dino Manuel was AA winner with 91. Devin Huguenot was junior gold victor with 89. Event 22 Lady I winner was Jessica Webb with 87. Event 23 champion was Huguenot with 200 straight. Class B winner was Ellie Alvarado with 197. Audric Schiedel topped junior gold with 199. In Event 24 Nader Bou Naim was event runnerup with 99. Huguenot was junior gold runnerup with 92.

I’m looking forward to the upcoming shoots this season with club shoots as well as the Golden West Grand at Livermore and the California State Shoot in Kingsburg. Keep me posted on your successes at these shoots.

Chayton Vega

ATA Delegate

Idaho

I’m sad to relay that longtime Idaho shooter, director and Delegate Bruce Baumgartner, recently passed away. He had a lifetime accomplishment of 140,425 singles, 141,025 handicap and 101,400 doubles targets. That comes to 382,850 shells he shot just at registered targets. Quite a few. He will be missed by many people, both in and out of the trapshooting world.

Well, I just got back from the 69th annual Camas Prairie Handicap shoot. The weather was fantastic for this time of year, and the turnout was nearly 300 shooters at the height. There were shooters from Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and one from Minnesota. Idaho provided one-half of the total shooters.

Not to take away any accomplishments of other shooters, but I thought I’d focus on two very impressive sub-juniors from our state. They pretty much dominated the league and the shoot. For the 10-week league, Weston Anderson (14 years old) missed only one target out of 250! This is shooting cold gun. Weston is from Nyssa OR, but it’s just across the border from Idaho, and his home club is in Weiser, ID. Thus we consider him an Idaho shooter. He was first place on the men’s team in the Camas League. All in all, there were about 800 participants in the league. Not too bad, Weston. In addition to that, during the ATA tournament, Weston was consistently in the upper end of the scores, topping most of the adult shooters. He won sub-junior in the preliminary singles, sub-junior on the championship doubles (96) and age-group runnerup in the final handicap with a solid 96, earning him another punch. He was also second high sub-junior in both the HAA and HOA. The only one to best him most of the time was Bruce Bradley from Orofino. Bruce won outright the Doubles Championship with a lone 99 and the singles with the only 200, finishing his second leg of the ATA Grand Slam. He placed or trophied in all events, including the HOA (second) and HAA (second). Bruce is 15 years old. (Look out, Bruce; Weston is one year behind you!) Young shooters are our future.

Grant Williams from Wallace Kellogg won the HOA and HAA. And finally Idaho’s Kelli Kennedy won the championship handicap with a beautiful 98. Way to go, Idaho!

While there, I was able to view the new SOS cashiering program in person. It has a lot of promise. The cashier, Bob McLendon (Oregon Delegate), and developer Greg Pink gave me a virtual tour during my sign-up. It looks like the future is very bright, and it will incorporate both ATA and PITA averages for the handicap process. It also incorporates PreSquad.com, and I believe will be the future management of ShootScoreBoard.com I can see handicap committees and handicap lines a thing of the past.

On a final note, Orofino had the first shoot of the year. You can probably find their scores in the Gun Club Scores section of this or last month’s issue. Also coming up is an ATA shoot in Caldwell in April then one in Culdesac and Boise in May before the state shoot in Pocatello during the Memorial Day weekend. I hope to see some of you there.

Leonard Wehking

ATA Delegate

Utah

As I write this article, it is the first day of spring, although you can’t tell by the weather forecast. The weatherman says snow all week long. The ski resorts of Utah are having a banner year. Base snow depth at some of the ski resorts is more than 15 feet. Total snowfall at some resorts is around 700 inches. Utah has been in a drought for several years, but the snowpack is averaging 200% in most parts of the state. What does this portend for shooting in Utah this year? Absolutely nothing.

Shoots across the state, region and nation are starting to pick up in frequency. Late March was the kick-off in Utah, with an uptick in April, and then it’s off to the races.

I just returned from an Executive Committee (EC) meeting that was held in the middle of March. The Silver Dollar SC hosted our spring meeting during the Southern Grand American. The managers of the Silver Dollar are always such gracious hosts. It was an excellent meeting, with a lot getting accomplished. Most of the information we covered will be available to the public after the minutes from this meeting get approved at our next meeting.

While there, the EC met with Mac Elliot, owner of National Aviation Academy (NAA), a signature sponsor for the Grand American. Mr. Elliot invited us to tour his academy, which is located just outside of Tampa Bay. Mac and his employees run a first-class operation. The NAA trains students to become airframe and power plant mechanics (A&P). It would behoove many businesses to tour his facility and take a page from their handbook as a business model. If any young people (or not so young) want a career in this field, you should look at the NAA. Mac’s generosity goes well beyond the trapshooting world. If any of you happen to cross Mac’s path, be sure to thank him for all he does for the ATA and the Grand American.

Some of you old-timers may remember Belinda Scripture (Earl Scripture’s wife). She is now working behind the counter at the Silver Dollar. It was great to see her and reminisce about the days gone by.

With competitions starting up, I hope to see many of you shortly.

           Ed Wehking

           ATA President